EPISD says a significant number of families have yet to notify district of plans for upcoming school year

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- More and more students in the Borderland are returning to classes each week, but one local district says it is still lacking vital information from families to prepare for the start of the new year.

El Paso Independent School District says a significant number of families have still not notified the district of their plans for their children when campuses reopen. As of July 22, district officials said only about half of families had filled out the district's reopening survey.

That survey gives families the option, in most cases, between full virtual learning and a hybrid learning model. The hybrid model would include two days of in-person classes each week and three days of virtual instruction. In some cases, parents may also select a third option, which includes full in-person learning.

The survey is required and can be filled out here. Parents who have not filled it out will soon be contacted by the district.

EPISD's Chief Communications Officer Melissa Martinez said the information is vital for planning teacher staffing and schedules for the upcoming year.

"There's a lot of planning that happens in the summer," Martinez said. "This year, because of the current circumstances it's even more so."

EPISD district officials could not comment on results so far. They did report that as of early June in a previous survey, parents were evenly split between options.

"We're getting a lot of questions from parents wanting to know about schedules and what teacher assignments they're going to have," Martinez said, "so we need that information in order to go on to that next step in order to get those classroom assignments."